Martha has been to Fareham

After living in Martha for a few weeks, we found we had got a few small jobs that needed to be put right under warranty.  The Service Centre managed to book us into the workshop in October, before Rookesbury Park Club Campsite closed for the winter.

We drove to the site on Sunday, arriving early afternoon and set up on a lovely large sunny pitch.  We had a dry afternoon so went for a walk in Hundred Acres Wood - after all the rain we've had over the past few weeks the smaller paths were very muddy but the main track was fine.

Pitch 24 Rookesbury Park

On Monday we decided to walk to Wickham, walking through the wood and along the old railway line.  We had a potter around the shops and a coffee at Wickham Coffee House before walking back to the site.  As it had been very muddy on the side paths we walked back along the main track to the car park and then to the main entrance of the site.

We had torrential rain overnight and then an early start on Tuesday as Southdowns wanted the van as early as possible.  We were both feeling tired so after leaving the van we walked to Hilsea Station to catch the train to Portsmouth Harbour.  We treated ourselves to breakfast at the Cosy Club before having a walk around the harbour  and then visiting the shops when it started to rain.   We caught the train back to Southdowns early afternoon to collect the van and were pleased that all the small jobs had been done and there was no charge to us either.  We set up quickly when we arrived back at the site as it started to rain again and continued to rain evening.

It continued to rain overnight, but we woke on Wednesday to a lovely sunny morning.  A lot of the pitches were flooded after the previous night's rain, but our pitch had drained well.  We decided to avoid the muddy tracks through the wood so walked to the site entrance, through the car park and main tracks to the railway line and back into Wickham.  Parts of the railway line path were flooded, some we could paddle through but others we had to make a detour as the water was so deep.  After having our lunch and a pot of tea at the Wickham Coffee Shop we walked back to the site along the same route.

We drove home on Thursday and managed to get everything unpacked and Martha back to storage before the rain started again.  We enjoyed our time at the site, but it was one of the wettest trips we've had for a while.

22-26 October 2023

Martha has been to Burnham-on-Sea and Cheddar

The weather has been awful since our last trip to North Devon, so we've been watching the weather forecast to see when some drier weather was due.  The forecast looked good for a few days so we made a last minute booking.

On Monday we travelled to Hurn Lane Club Campsite.  We've previously visited this site as we want to see the wooden lighthouse on the beach at Burnham and also to walk across Brean Down to the fort - we've not managed to do either on our previous visits.  Despite the forecast showing fine weather, it rained all the way to the site, stopping just long enough for us to set up.  The rain started again after we had pitched so we stayed in Martha all afternoon.

Pitch 31 Hurn Lane

It rained heavily overnight and Tuesday morning, finally stopping late morning.  We walked along the beach to the wooden lighthouse and then to Burnham to have our lunch and a cup of tea.  Unfortunately we got caught in a heavy shower on the way back, but luckily the sun came back out and dried our clothes before we returned to site.

The Wooden Lighthouse

Wednesday was a dry day, but there was a cold wind which was fine for our walk to Brean Down.  We walked along the beach, stopping for a cup of tea at the National Trust cafe before climbing to the top of the down and walking to the fort.  We enjoyed the walk and as it was a clear day we had good views across to Wales.

On Thursday it was time to travel to Cheddar Club Campsite.  By the time we arrived on site the sun was out and we chose a lovely pitch where we could get afternoon sun.  After setting up we walked to Cheddar for a pot of tea at the Cafe Gorge and then returned to site to sit in the sun for a while.

Pitch 9 Cheddar

Friday was a lovely sunny day and we decided to do the Gorge Walk.  We had previously walked the south path but hadn't completed the circular walk along the north path.  It was a lovely walk and good to see the Gorge from both sides too.

North Path down The Gorge

Saturday was a glorious sunny day and after the climbing on the previous day's Gorge walk, we decided to have an easier day and walked along the Strawberry Line through Axbridge to Winscombe.  Unfortunately the tunnel on the route was closed so we had a detour which made the walk a little longer, but it was still very enjoyable.

We both felt tired after the previous day's long walk and decided to walk around the reservoir on Sunday.  Although this is an easy walk and not too far, we both began to feel the heat as it was a very hot day (hotter than a lot of days over the summer) so we returned to site mid afternoon to sit outside Martha.

Monday was our day to travel home.  We would have liked to stay away for longer, but both of us had appointments booked for the following week so we couldn't extend our stay.

2-9 October 2023